Marcia Kaplan

Articles by: Marcia Kaplan

Marcia Kaplan is a contributor for Practical Ecommerce. She's also a freelance business writer and researcher, living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has written for trade magazines, newspapers, and technology companies.

Marcia has an M.B.A. from San Jose State University in California and a B.A. in sociology from Binghamton University in New York. Email Marcia.

Ecommerce Briefs: Walmart, Amazon Vie for Flipkart; Etsy and Adidas Refocus

April 11, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan

“Ecommerce Briefs” is my occasional series of news and developments from online merchants. In this installment, I’ll address the competition between Walmart and Amazon to acquire Flipkart, India’s dominant marketplace. I’ll... Read More »
ICOs Are the Newest Form of Alternative Funding

March 28, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan

If words like cryptocurrency, cryptocoin, Bitcoin, and blockchain befuddle you, you're not alone. Even the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is having a hard time keeping up with all the... Read More »
Costco Finally Embraces Ecommerce

March 15, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan

While Walmart, Amazon, Kroger, and Albertson's compete for online supremacy in groceries and household goods, Costco has until recently remained aloof, firmly committed to serving customers at its physical stores.... Read More »
Walmart’s Ecommerce Sales Up 23 Percent in Fourth Quarter 2017

March 1, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan

Last month the Department of Commerce announced its estimate of U.S. retail ecommerce sales for the fourth quarter of 2017. The Department issues two sets of figures. One is seasonally... Read More »
Ecommerce Briefs: Alibaba Eyes Kroger; Walmart Partners with Rakuten

February 14, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan

“Ecommerce Briefs” is my occasional series of news and developments from online merchants. In this installment, I’ll address grocery wars, international expansion by Amazon and Walmart, and Pepsi’s embrace of... Read More »
Ecommerce in Nordic Region: Affluent Market, Appetite for Foreign Goods

January 28, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan

Scandinavia is an affluent market with an appetite for foreign goods. The Nordic region — Scandinavia — encompasses Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Individually, each country may not seem to be... Read More »
2017 Ecommerce Round-up: 16 Percent Growth; ’Retail Apocalypse’?

January 11, 2018 • Marcia Kaplan

2017 was supposedly the year ecommerce pummeled the brick-and-mortar retail sector, creating what analysts called a “retail apocalypse.” Yet, according to research firm Statista, ecommerce contributed only 9.1 percent to... Read More »
Ecommerce Briefs: Walmart, Whole Foods, Target, Shipt

December 21, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

“Ecommerce Briefs” is my occasional series of news and developments from online merchants. In this installment, I’ll address the continuing omnichannel wars between Walmart and Amazon as well as some... Read More »
11 Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking Business Financing

December 14, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

Obtaining funding for your business, whether it’s new or established, can be grueling and frustrating. Success is not a certainty. But you can increase your chances of securing funds if... Read More »
Sales Report: 2017 Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday

November 30, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

Robust growth marked holiday ecommerce revenue on 2017 Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, bringing some much-needed cheer to nervous merchants. With sellers starting discounts earlier and extending them... Read More »
Sales on China’s 2017 Singles’ Day Dwarf U.S. Black Friday, Cyber Monday

November 19, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

Alibaba again claimed the highest grossing ecommerce sales day ever on Singles’ Day, eclipsing last year’s record-breaking 24-hour period by 39 percent. The Chinese ecommerce behemoth reported that its 2017... Read More »
Aramex Expands Ecommerce Logistics beyond Middle East

November 9, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

Aramex is a United Arab Emirates-based shipping and logistics firm launched in 1982. It has found success in serving geographic markets that other providers ignore. While Aramex’s reach has been... Read More »
How Does Fintech Affect Ecommerce?

October 19, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

Fintech is the practice of applying technology to the financial services sector. Traditional financial institutions utilize it mainly to manage accounting and other back-office services. More recently, thanks to advances... Read More »
Ecommerce Briefs: Amazon and Kohl’s, Food Wars, Toys”R”Us

October 9, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

“Ecommerce Briefs” is my occasional series on news and developments from online merchants. In this installment, I’ll address: Amazon’s new partnership with Kohl’s; activity in the U.S. online food delivery... Read More »
Can Experiential Retailing Help Brick-and-mortar Stores?

September 25, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

The theory behind experiential retailing is that people are bored with buying tangible goods; what they really crave is experiences. When shoppers really need things, they can buy them online... Read More »
Ecommerce Briefs: Walmart Steps Up Acquisitions

September 14, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

One economic sector’s implosion is another sector’s lucky break. Physical store closures are disproportionately occurring in the apparel category, pushing more consumers to online clothing shopping. Seizing the opportunity for... Read More »
Ecommerce in the Middle East: Small but Promising Market

August 24, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

The Middle East, long a laggard when it comes to online shopping, caught the attention of the industry earlier this year when Amazon purchased Souq, a local online marketplace. New... Read More »
Ecommerce Briefs: Amazon’s Earnings; Walmart’s In-store Pickup

August 10, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

“Ecommerce Briefs” is my occasional series on news and developments from online merchants. In this installment, I’ll decipher Amazon’s Q2 2017 financial results and its recently-announced returns policy for certain marketplace... Read More »
Amazon Prime Day 2017 Smashes Sales Record

July 18, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

Amazon held its third annual Prime Day on July 11. The event actually began the evening of July 10 and offered 30 hours of deals instead of the 24 offered... Read More »
The Explosive Growth of Cross-border Ecommerce

July 12, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

While domestic online sales in the United States and the European Union will continue to increase — taking sales away from brick-and-mortar stores — growth rates will flatten out over... Read More »
For Amazon, Is Whole Foods a Grocery Chain or a Distribution Network?

June 20, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

The announcement that Amazon is buying Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion, or $42 a share, generated an enormous amount of commentary, with financial and technology analysts chiming in on... Read More »
Will Shopping Malls Survive?

June 13, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

From the 1950s when they were initially built, through the early 2000s, shopping malls were the backbone of retail shopping — attracting consumers with convenient parking and a wide selection... Read More »
Teen Shopping Habits and Trends

May 11, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

While marketers are preoccupied with satisfying the needs of millennials, another demographic group with enormous spending power is nipping at their heels: teenagers. There are about 26 million teens in the United... Read More »
Has Crowdfunding from Ordinary Investors Been Successful?

May 1, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

May 2017 marks the one-year anniversary of the implementation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of Regulation CF crowdfunding for non-accredited investors. Some observers believe it is a disaster while... Read More »
Amazon Takes On the Digital Advertising Industry

April 13, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

Amazon, the ecommerce giant, is showing greater interest in the digital advertising arena, expanding its offerings and attracting a new type of client: big brands that advertise on television and... Read More »
FedEx to Challenge Amazon for Ecommerce Fulfillment

March 15, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

1994. Ecommerce is in its infancy. A new company in Bellevue, Washington begins selling books online. Business analysts wonder if people will buy products online. Most people are skeptical. 2017. That... Read More »
Dissecting Amazon’s 2016 Financial Performance

February 9, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

For years when Amazon failed to show a profit, financial analysts were unperturbed. Now that Amazon is profitable, it is taking a hit for not being profitable enough and missing... Read More »
2016 Holiday Ecommerce Wrap-up

January 12, 2017 • Marcia Kaplan

Despite concerns that political turmoil would dampen holiday spending, ecommerce sales made a strong showing in 2016. Even with a sluggish November start, revenues increased by 11 percent over 2015,... Read More »
Ecommerce Companies Sought-after Acquisition Targets

December 22, 2016 • Marcia Kaplan

2016 was a tough year for initial public offerings of venture-capital-backed ecommerce companies. However, it was a year of notable acquisitions of ecommerce companies by large retail chains and consumer... Read More »
Sales Report: 2016 Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday

December 1, 2016 • Marcia Kaplan

Amidst concerns that election results would dampen November holiday spending, consumers expressed confidence in the economy by spending a total of $12.8 billion online in the U.S. during the five-day... Read More »